Lake Khovsgol

Lake Khövsgöl
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Lake Khövsgöl

Coordinates 51°06′N 100°30′ECoordinates: 51°06′N 100°30′E
Lake type Rift lake
Primary outflows Egiin Gol
Basin countries Mongolia
Max length 136 km
Max width 36 km
Surface area 2760 km²
Max depth 267 m
Water volume 381 km³
Surface elevation 1,645 m
Islands Modon khüi, Khadan khüi, Modot tolgoi, Baga khüi
Settlements Khatgal

Lake Khövsgöl.
Rainbow at Lake Khövsgöl.Lake Khövsgöl (Mongolian: Хөвсгөл нуур, Khövsgöl nuur, also Khövsgöl dalai (Хөвсгөл далай, Khövsgöl ocean) or Dalai Eej (Далай ээж, ocean mother) is the second largest lake in Mongolia.

Contents [hide]
1 Geography
2 Ecological significance
3 See also
4 References
5 External links



[edit] Geography
Khövsgöl nuur is located in the northwest of Mongolia near the border to Russia, at the foot of the eastern Sayan Mountains. It is 1,645 m above sea level, 136 km long and 262 m deep. It holds almost 70% of Mongolia's fresh water and 0.4% of all the fresh water in the world.[1]

Its watershed is relatively small, and it only has small tributaries. It gets drained at the south end by the Egiin Gol, which connects to the Selenge and ultimately into Lake Baikal. In between, the water travels a distance of more than 1,000 km, and a height difference of 1,169 m, although the line-of-sight distance is only about 200 km.

The lake is surrounded by several mountain ranges. The highest mountain is the Munku Sardyk (3,492 m), which has its peak north of the lake exactly on the Russian-Mongolian border. The surface of the lake freezes over completely in winter. The ice cover gets strong enough to carry heavy trucks, so that transport routes are installed on its surface as shortcuts to the normal roads.


[edit] Ecological significance
Khövsgöl is one of seventeen ancient lakes worldwide more than 2 million years old and the most pristine (apart from Lake Vostok).[2][3] and is the most significant drinking water reserve of Mongolia. Its water is potable without any treatment and offers good living conditions for many types of fish.

The Lake area is a National Park bigger than Yellowstone and strictly protected as a transition zone between Central Asian Steppe and Siberian Taiga. The lake is traditionally considered sacred in a land suffering from arid conditions where most lakes are salty.

The Park is home to a variety of wildlife such as ibex, argali, elk, wolf, wolverine, musk deer, brown bear, Siberian moose and sable.